Ah, so that Mercedes is Ernie's car, huh? I thought it was Caroline's but if it was hers it would surely be registered in France or Monaco. Ernie loves his London. The press forgets that when they harp on his Germanic ancestry. He studied in England for university and English is his preferred tongue. He also reads the Evening Standard in English whenever he's in Zurs!

Ah, so that Mercedes is Ernie's car, huh? I thought it was Caroline's but if it was hers it would surely be registered in France or Monaco. Ernie loves his London. The press forgets that when they harp on his Germanic ancestry. He studied in England for university and English is his preferred tongue. He also reads the Evening Standard in English whenever he's in Zurs!

CT you never fail to impress. Where do you get all this info from? You sure your not secretly a member of the family and not telling us?

And that brings up the question, why Britain is the only place with the wheel on the left side? A friend of mine was in London this year, visiting his sister and her family, and I asked about it. He did not know but was not able to get a car since he is used to have the wheel on the right side and was afraid he could get into an accident.

And that brings up the question, why Britain is the only place with the wheel on the left side? A friend of mine was in London this year, visiting his sister and her family, and I asked about it. He did not know but was not able to get a car since he is used to have the wheel on the right side and was afraid he could get into an accident.

The question was not about the car but the license plate. The car might well be foreign but the license plate is British.
The wheel is on the left hand side here because we drive on the left. It has been like that since the early 1900's and nobody changed it.

The question was not about the car but the license plate. The car might well be foreign but the license plate is British.
The wheel is on the left hand side here because we drive on the left. It has been like that since the early 1900's and nobody changed it.

Well, if I'm not mistaken, Toledo was pointing out that since the Car is registered in Britain, then why is the wheel on the left, as it is in every other country? Because if it is registered in Britain, it would seem that it should be on the right side???? But I'm guessing the car was made in Germany (???) since it's a Mercedes (aren't they made in Germany?) so that would explain the left-side wheel. I guess Ernie registers his cars in England for whatever reason. As I said before, maybe it's just because he is an Englishman in his heart. Carlos, to answer you question, my knowledge of Ernie's preference for reading material has nothing to do with inside info! It's just that he has been photographed reading this paper. Without the photographs, I know nothing!:p

You are not mistaken, that's exactly what I meant.
When Carlos mentioned the plate as British and I saw the wheel on the other side I had to take a look again because I thought the photo could be reversed! But noticed the letters on the plate were straight so I wondered how is he registered in Britain driving with the wheel on that side.

Last time I looked, at least 30% of the world drives on the "wrong" side. Not only the UK, but India, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand plus many more.

But not in most of Europe?? Certainly not Monaco or France or Germany. I remember other pics of the family driving in Monaco (Pierre more recently in his earth-friendly ride) and the wheel was always on the left. I don't think most places in Europe have it any other way. The countries you mentioned (Australia, India, Indonesia, NZ) all former members of the British empire, no? Japan, really?? I didn't know Japan has the wheel on the "wrong" side.
Because Japan makes so many of the cars for America, I just assumed they have the same wheel structure.

Well, if I'm not mistaken, Toledo was pointing out that since the Car is registered in Britain, then why is the wheel on the left, as it is in every other country? Because if it is registered in Britain, it would seem that it should be on the right side???? But I'm guessing the car was made in Germany (???) since it's a Mercedes (aren't they made in Germany?) so that would explain the left-side wheel. I guess Ernie registers his cars in England for whatever reason. As I said before, maybe it's just because he is an Englishman in his heart. Carlos, to answer you question, my knowledge of Ernie's preference for reading material has nothing to do with inside info! It's just that he has been photographed reading this paper. Without the photographs, I know nothing!:p

This car is a collector's item car, and it is very possible that it has been built in Europe. So Ernst, either bought it from another collector in UK, and he registered it, or he bought it in Europe and he transfered it in UK. Ernst used to live for a long time in UK, he still has a mansion there, and his proffessionnal interests may be still there. So it is normal to have registered his car in one of his companies name, or whatever else.

I think, in Europe, out of UK, Malta & Cyprus drive on the left side, and may be also Ireland, but I'm not sure.

This car is a collector's item car, and it is very possible that it has been built in Europe. So Ernst, either bought it from another collector in UK, and he registered it, or he bought it in Europe and he transfered it in UK. Ernst used to live for a long time in UK, he still has a mansion there, and his proffessionnal interests may be still there. So it is normal to have registered his car in one of his companies name, or whatever else.

I think, in Europe, out of UK, Malta & Cyprus drive on the left side, and may be also Ireland, but I'm not sure.

I am 95% sure you must be right about Ireland. Yeah, that car is definitely a vintage. I wonder what year it is. Have you guys seen the family ever driving this car outside Monaco, because I don't recall ever seeing it driven outside Monaco. Is it normal to keep a foreign-registered car in Monaco or is that just another special privilege they have as members of the ruling family? Because in America, if you have a car registered, say, in Kentucky, but you keep this car permanently fixed in another state, that's illegal. You have a time restriction for that and beyond the time limit (I think exactly 30 days) you must acquire the registration requirements of the state in which the car will be settled. Considering their special status, I would not be surprised to learn that the Hanovers can have diplomatic plates on their cars, which would give them complete immunity from any registration laws of any country.

The question was not about the car but the license plate. The car might well be foreign but the license plate is British.
The wheel is on the left hand side here because we drive on the left. It has been like that since the early 1900's and nobody changed it.

:) I am interested to know where in the UK they drive wiith the steering wheel on the left. Admitedly you drive on the left, but that means the steering wheel is on the right, as is the case here in Aust. If the steering wheel was on the left, you would be viewing the road from the gutter making things very awkward.

I think it's a German made car (Mercedes for God's sake!) therefore the wheel is on the left, but I believe that Ernst may keep that plate because he loves England and lived there. My parents have lived in Miami for years, but my Dad still keeps the French plate on his old Volvo and my Mom keeps the Spanish plate on her VW. It's total nostalgia. Ya know, the good ol' days?

This thing that started with a prince Ernst plate has taken quite an interesting turn, literally prince Ernst car's left or right turn. In the USA the only people I've seen with the wheel on the British side are mail men because it's easier for them to deposit mail on boxes lined by the driveway without getting out of the car.

If Ernst can drive both ways, is that then like learning to write the left and right hands?

Location: Down the street. It's the third house on the right, United States

Posts: 7,671

Just wondering but is it possible that his car is registered elsewhere but keeps the front plate for purely nostalgic reasons? Over in Europe do you have to have a plate on the front & back of your car. I know here in the States not every state is required to have front & back plates. For example, in North Carolina, where I'm from we only have back plates. Another example, in New Jersey they have plates on the front & back.

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